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Build a Garage WorkbenchI wanted was a simple bench that was sturdy, had a large work surface, and didn't cost a lot. And I wanted to build it in a weekend. So Saturday morning I went to the local lumberyard and by Sunday night my basic bench was complete. I used simple 2x4's for the base, and a solid-core door for the top--something you can usualy find at building centers in their damaged goods section. Or, you can make the top out of two pieces of 3/4" plywood. The basic bench worked great, but by the next weekend I began thinking some drawers sure would be handy. So I added three drawers that are joined together with router-cut dovetails. I also added a sliding tray in one drawer to keep things organized. Since I couldn't fit everything into the drawers, I added a shelf underneath, and finally, a woodworking vise on top. Of course, you can always alter the basic design of this plan to meet your particular needs. Bench JoineryThe end frames of the bench are assembled with lap joints. But, instead of cutting lap joints in the traditional way, I built them up by laminating 2x4's together. The uprights are stacked (laminated) in a way to create "notches'' for the crosspieces (braces). This brought up the question of the best way to laminate the 2x4's together. If you have enough clamps, you can glue and clamp them together. Or, you can glue, and then nail them together. (Here I'd use finish nails.) Or, glue and screw them together. There was another question about how to join the rails (horizontal pieces) to the legs. I chose a draw- bolt system that allows you to knock down the bench if you ever need to move it in the future. Building the End FramesThe first step in building the bench is to build the two end frames. To make each frame, begin by cutting two legs (A) to a length of 321/2". (Note: This gives you an overall bench height of about 341/4" when the top is on.) The length of the legs can be varied to fit your height. With the legs cut to length, cut the two side braces. Building the RaillsAfter the end frames are built, I made the four rails that run across the front and back of the bench. Each rail is made from two 2x4's laminated together. To make each rail, start by cutting two 2x4's to a rough length of 50". After the rail pieces are cut to rough length, glue them together to form a 3" x 31/2" rail blank, see Fig. 5. Shop Note: Rather than using clamps, aand then waiting for the glue to dry, I screwed the rails together with 21/2"-long screws. Be sure to drill shank holes and countersink the holes before screwing the pieces together. Trim to LengthAfter gluing together all four rails, I trimmed them to a finished length of 48 - 3/8". (Note: The only reason for this particular length is so the Tool Cabinet shown in Woodsmith No. 50 would fit between the end frames.) long. Lay two legs side-by-side and position one side brace 4-1/2" up from the bottom ends. Then place the other brace flush to the top of the legs. Once the pieces are in place, lay out the screw locations. Then, drill and countersink 3/16" shank holes in the side braces. Now glue and screw the side braces to the legs using No. 8 x 21/2" woodscrews.
Attach the Filler PiecesTo strengthen the end frames I added upper and lower leg fillers, and two side brace fillers. After I trimmed the filler pieces to fit, I clamped the pieces in position while I glued and screwed them in place.
Bolt HolesAll that's left to complete the end frames is to drill and counterbore the holes for the bolts that connect the rails. These holes are 13/4" down from the top edge of the side braces, and centered on the width of the legs. Once the hole locations have been marked, counterbore 1"-dia. holes, 3/4" deep on the outside face of the end frames. Then drill 7/16"-dia. holes centered in the counterbores.
Adding a FinishTo protect the bench and keep glue from sticking to it, I finished the bench with two coats of General Finishes Two-Step oil/urethane finish.
Overal Dimensions34 !/4" H x 30" W x 80" L
Basic Components
Rail ConnectorsThe rails are connected to the end frames with a draw-bolt system. This system not only allows the joint to be tightened if it becomes loose, it's also easy to make and goes together quickly.
Pocket HolesThe first step is to mark the location of the pocket holes on the rails. The holes are centered on the face of the rails and located 1-3/4" in from each end. Now, drill a 1"-dia. hole, 2" deep at the marked location. Then, to provide a flat surface for the washer and nut to draw against, square up the edge of the hole nearest the end of the rail.
End HolesOnce the pocket holes have been squared up, I drilled 7/16"-dia. holes centered on the ends of the rails, see Fig. 6a. These holes are positioned in the center To help start the nut (in the pocket hole) on the end of the machine bolt, I attached the nut to a small scrap of wood with a piece of double-sided carpet tape.
Top and ShelfAfter the base has been bolted together, all that's left is to attach the top and bottom shelf. I used a 1-3/4"-thick solid-core door as a top. But you could laminate two pieces of 3/4" plywood together instead.
Attach the TopTo attach the top, turn the top and the base upside down and center the base on the top. Then mark and drill the mounting holes on the bottom side of the top rails. Now attach the top with 3/8" x 4" lag screws and washers.
Install the ShelfFinally, cut a 3/4" plywood shelf to width to fit between the rails. (I used a 48"-long piece to fit between the end frames which are 48-3/8" apart.) Use some left over plywood to make 1-1/2"-wide shelf cleats (I, J). Then attach the shelf cleats 3/4" down from the top inside edge of the bottom rails and side braces. Note: Don't cover the pocket holes when attaching the cleats so you can get to the draw bolts.
AssemblyNow the rails can be bolted to the end frames. Just insert a 3/8" x 4" hex head machine bolt with a washer. Push the bolt through the countersunk hole in the end frame and into the hole in the end of the rail. Then slip a washer and nut in the pocket hole and tighten the bolt holding the nut with an open end wrench. (See the tip at right for a trick I used to start the nuts.) If the rails won't draw up tight against the end frames, you may want to use the undercutting technique shown in Shop Notes. Design Note: To keep the pocket holes from showing, I positioned the rails so these holes faced in toward the center of the bench.
Alternate Drawer JointAfter the basic bench was built, I added a set of drawers. The first step here is to build and install the drawer guides. For durability, I used hard maple to make the guides, but you could make them out of pine (same as the drawers).
Cut Guides to SizeThere are a total of six drawer guides made from 3/4"-thick stock. However, the two center guides are laminated together. To make things easier, I glued up the two center guides to a rough width of 2-3/4". Then I trimmed the center guides along with the two side guides to a finished width of 2-9/16" and cut them 22-1/2"-long.
Cut the GroovesOnce the guides are cut to size, grooves are cut to accept the drawer runners. I cut these 1/2"- deep grooves with a 3/4" dado blade. To cut the grooves, first position the table saw fence 7/8" from the blade. Then, to get the 1-3/16"-wide groove centered on the guides, I made two passes, turning the pieces end-for-end after each pass.
Mount the GuidesAfter the grooves have been cut, drill and countersink shank holes at the locations shown in Fig. 10. Then position the side guides so they're flush against the top front rail and screw them to the legs with No. 8 x 11/4" flathead woodscrews. With the side guides in place, position the center guides so the three drawer openings are equal. Once they're in place, screw the center guides to the top rails with No. 8 x 4" screws.
Drawer StopsFinally, I cut drawer stops to stop the back of the drawer. After building the drawers, screw the stops in position so the back of the drawers hit the stops before the drawer's false front hits the end of the drawer guides. 2 As an alternative to using a dovetail joint for the drawers (shown on opposite page), you could use a dado/rabbet corner joint. If you do, the drawer fronts/backs are cut 1" shorter (13-1/2"-long), and the sides (N) are cut 1" longer (21-1/4"-long). This joint is made by cutting a 1/4" x 1/4" dado on the drawer sides, located 3/4" in from each end. Then, cut the mating 1/4" x 1/4" tongue on both ends of the drawer fronts and backs. After cutting the joints, cut the grooves for the drawer bottoms. Also cut grooves in two drawer sides for the tray splines. Complete the drawers by cutting the bottoms to fit. Then glue up the drawers, tacking the corners together.
Building the DrawersWhen the drawer guides are in place, the drawers can be built to fit between the guides. Since these drawers will be subjected to a lot of weight, I built them with dovetail joints, using a router and a dovetail jig. (For an alternate joint, see the box on the previous page.) To build the drawers, start by cutting the fronts/backs to length, 1/8" less than the distance between the drawer guides and to a width of 4-3/8". Then cut the sides (N) to the same width and 20-1/4" long. After the pieces have been cut to size, rout the dovetail joints on the ends of the pieces.
BOTTOM GROOVE Before assembling the drawer, cut a 1/4"-deep groove for the plywood bottom. The width of the groove is determined by the thickness of the plywood. (In our case this was 1/4".)
TRAY GROOVE To provide additional storage, I added a tray to one of the drawers. To make a ledge for the tray to slide on, cut a groove 2" down from the top edge of the drawer sides. After the tray groove is cut, assemble the drawers. Then cut the 1/4" x 1/2" tray splines to fit in the grooves and glue them in place.
FALSE FRONTS The next step is to cut and attach the false fronts. Once the fronts are cut, drill and countersink four mounting holes. Then position the fronts flush to the bottom of the drawer and centered on the width, and screw them to the drawers.
RUNNERS All that's left to complete the drawers is to cut the 22-1/2"-long hardwood drawer runners and mount them so they slide in the drawer guides.
TRAY It's always aggravating when small tools get lost in the bottom of a large drawer. To keep this from happening, I built a shallow sliding tray for one of the drawers.
THE SIDES The first step in building the tray is to cut the 1/2"-thick, 13/4"-wide tray sides to length, see Fig. 17. Then cut the front and back pieces 1/8" smaller than the inside of the drawer. On our tray this was 12-7/8". Once the tray pieces are cut to length, the ends can be dovetailed together.
UNDERCUTTING Sometimes it's difficult to get a tight joint der touches the adjoining piece, it's much against the end of the rail. This keeps the line when you butt one piece into another. |
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